


Path to the Gods

by stargatefan_archivist



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, Gen, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-31
Updated: 2013-12-31
Packaged: 2018-10-06 12:12:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10334372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stargatefan_archivist/pseuds/stargatefan_archivist
Summary: The legacy of Seth’s cult lives on and they have plans for a certain teammate of SG-1Set directly after third season episode "Seth"





	

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Yuma, the archivist: this work was originally archived at [Stargatefan.com](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Stargatefan.com). To preserve the archive, we began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [StargateFan Archive Collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/StargateFan_Archive_Collection).

The Path to the Gods

**Prologue**

The silence of the woods surrounding Seth's complex had given way to a flurry of activity. ATF personnel and unmarked soldiers patrolled the grounds and the tunnels that ran beneath them, while the local police busied themselves with rounding up and caring for the dozens of cult members who had recently stumbled to the surface, scared and confused. 

Alan, Elliot and Brendan, all "Children of Seth", sat on the tailgate of the sheriff's truck watching the action around them. The rage in Alan's heart flared as he turned towards the tunnel entrance and saw three of the unmarked soldiers haul Seth's dead body out onto the surface. Getting the attention of the others sitting with him, he nodded towards the remaining two soldiers climbing out of the tunnel. 

The older man surfaced first and turned around to give the woman a hand up. There was something about those two. The man had made quite a recovery, showing no ill effects from Seth's attack on him. The woman looked to be completely unfazed about what she had done a short while ago. She had killed his master. 

_'Killed him...no destroyed him. She blasted him into the ground with the simple push of a hand.'_ Alan thought. The sight of it had sickened and enthralled him all at once. Such power to have done away with a person, a god, like that. No mere human could possibly have such power. Questions circled through Alan's brain. _'What is she? Who sent her? What had she called herself?_ He played the day's events over and over in his mind, searching for answers. _'Tok'ra...yes, that was the word she used.'_ Alan focused on the woman and man once more, noticing the way they smiled at each other. It was as if they were quietly celebrating the end to this whole ordeal. "This is far from over", Alan whispered to himself with a snarl. 

Alan and those at his side were different from the other cult escapees around them. Dedicated soldiers of Seth, they followed him without question. They did so, not because they had been programmed to, but because they truly wanted to. Seth's draw on these three young men was not the result of any drug, teaching or threat. It was in the power he possessed...the power of the gods. Something Alan and the others wanted for themselves. Seth had taught his followers that the source of these powers lie at the end of the "Path to the Gods", and that it was there for the taking. His army would someday cross the Path and make that power their own. Adam believed that there was such a path and, after what he had witnessed today, he knew that Sam Carter could get him there. 

* * * * * * * 

**Sunday**

Sam rubbed her eyes and cursed at the alarm clock on the nightstand beside her. The glowing red numbers on the digital face read 4:33am. She had watched the past 45 minutes pass one by one and finally accepted the fact that there was no hope of drifting back to sleep. Reaching over to shut off the alarm clock, she accidentally knocked the receiver off the phone with her arm. Hanging up the phone, she smiled at the memories of last night, when she had pleasantly ended her evening with a phone call to Jack. 

Originally, she had only called to explain that her car was in the shop and to ask for a ride to the SGC on Monday morning. As was becoming more and more typical of them, she and Jack ended up spending hours chatting and laughing. Pushing the fond memory out of her mind, Sam rolled out of bed and padded over to the window. She pulled back the curtain and looked out; her body bathed in the cool blue light that spilled in through the opening. It was still quite dark, but the moon hung in the sky and cast the ground in its eerie light. The sight was beautiful, and Sam was suddenly grateful to be awake. This was the beginning of the final day of a three-day stand-down and she intended to enjoy what might be her last real day off for weeks to come. Deciding that this would be a great morning for a long jog, Sam pulled on her favorite USAF sweats, stretched and headed out the door. 

_'Well I'll be damned!'_ Elliot could no longer questioned Alan's decision to watch the woman's house in the early hours of the morning. Barely 5am, and she was already up and moving. Alan was slouched in the passenger's seat with his back to Elliot, but his tense posture told him that Alan was awake and watching. Turning to Elliot, Alan broke the silence. "Wait until she's almost out of sight, then follow without headlights." Nodding an affirmative, Elliot gripped the steering wheel and waited in excitement as their plan finally began to roll into action. 

* * * * * * * 

Once Sam had reached the park's jogging path, she had quickly found a nice pace, it's rhythm punctuated by the quiet jingle of her dog tags against the house key she had slid into place next to them. The morning air was crisp but comfortable and the park was peaceful. Sam soon found herself lost in thought...she never noticed the dark van that had followed her from afar ever since she had left home. 

Inside the van, Alan nervously fingered the length of rope in the pocket of his warm-up jacket while Elliot took the necessary turns to get a couple of blocks ahead of the woman. The van slowed to a stop and both of the men sat in silence for a moment, once more thinking over the plan. Giving Elliot the thumbs up, Alan moved to exit the van. 

Elliot grabbed Alan's shoulder to stop him and reached into the glove compartment, pulling out a 9mm and handing it to Alan. 

"Don't want to forget that, do you?" Elliot asked with frustration. Sometimes he wondered where Alan's mind was. Alan frowned and snatched the gun from Elliot. Tucking the gun into his other pocket, he left the van and headed towards the jogging path. 

* * * * * * * 

The moon had faded into the brightening sky, and there was now enough pre-dawn light for Sam to spot a fellow jogger coming from about 100 yards ahead of her. Common sense told her that the man was just another early riser out for a run, but a deeper part of her signaled that something was not right. Sam's intuition had kept her out of trouble before, so she gave into the feeling and simply turned in the other direction and picked up the pace a bit. Judging from the sound of the man's footfalls, Sam didn't need to look back to know that he was trying to close the gap between them. Having no wish to find out what the man's intentions were, Sam broke into a sprint towards the apartment complex that stood at that end of the park. As she ran, Sam ventured a quick look over her shoulder and was surprised to see that the man was just a few feet behind her. She didn't even manage to get a scream out before she was tackled from behind, something snapping in her knee as she went down hard onto the cold pavement. 

The two bodies came to rest with Sam on her side and Alan sprawled on top of her. Seeing that the woman was out cold, Alan rolled off of her and stood up to look for the van. _'Where the hell is Elliot?'_ Alan thought to himself angrily. The sun would rise soon and the possibility of someone seeing all of this was getting greater by the minute. Alan fought to keep control of his rising temper and panic. _'It's all going wrong!'_ His frantic thoughts were interrupted by a soft moan from the body at his feet. _'Such a weak sound from such a powerful being?'_ Alan thought to himself sarcastically. Suddenly, something in Alan's disturbed mind snapped, and all of he and the others' logic and planning were replaced by pure anger and hate. 

Consciousness came before realization, and Sam made the mistake of reaching for her throbbing knee. Her efforts were quickly rewarded with a kick to the ribs from behind. Her attacker's foot hit with a sickening crunch and the air was pushed out of her lungs in a whoosh. The pain was beyond words and Sam nearly slipped back into the darkness that still hung in the corners of her mind. A sob escaped her lips followed by...nothing. 

_'Oh God, I can't breathe!'_ she thought. Panic and pain washed over Sam in waves as she struggled to pull air into her burning chest. Despite strong protest from her damaged ribcage, she was able to take one deep breath before she was roughly rolled onto her stomach and pinned to the ground with a knee in her back. In a mind clouded with pain, Sam struggled to find a way out of this. Her options were few. If she tried to scream or fight, surely the man would do more harm...maybe even kill her right then and there. The intense pain in her knee told her that breaking free and running was out of the question as well. 

Sam stifled a cry as her attacker jerked her arms up to hold her wrists at her back. She felt his body weight shift a bit and heard the ruffling of his jacket. _'He's reaching for something. Lord please, not a weapon.'_ Sam thought fearfully. She then felt a length of rope settle onto her back and the man re-adjust his grip on her wrists. Allowing him to tie her seemed like such a hopeless thing to do. _'You will not give up!_ ' she thought to herself. 

It was then that Sam heard something...a car. Suddenly, a last desperate plan flashed into her mind. Surely the driver would see her and the attacker, but she had to be sure. She had to get away from this man and get just a little closer to the road, just a few feet. If she could only get the driver's attention, she would be saved. Sam feigned unconsciousness, slowing her breathing and letting the muscles in her body go slack. The man issued a sound of surprise...at her or the approaching vehicle, she didn't know. 

Summoning all of her remaining strength, Sam yanked her arms free of the man's grasp and threw her weight to one side in an attempt to roll the man off of her. He was too heavy, or she was too weak. Either way, her attacker didn't budge. Just as she sounded the beginnings of a ragged scream, the man lifted her head by her hair and slammed her face once into the ground. 

* * * * * * * 

Elliot pulled the van into the driveway in front of an abandoned garage and sounded the horn. Brendan, the third member of the group, peered out the small office window before pulling open the huge garage door. Elliot pulled the van in and parked it as Brendan slammed the door down behind them. Sitting in his seat for a moment, Elliot took a huge sigh of relief...they did it. Thinking back, everything had happened so fast. So fast, in fact, that Elliot barely remembered anything more than pulling up to the jogging path, Alan shouting for him to go and then arriving there at 'home base'. He still had no idea of what had happened just before his arrival, although he did remember finding it strange that the woman had stayed so quiet during the ride form the park. Elliot knew that this woman was not one to be underestimated, so he exited the van and moved around to the back to help Alan with her in case she had finally decided to fight. Coming around the rear of the van, Elliot was absolutely shocked by the sight of the battered and unconscious woman in Alan's arms. By the look on Bren's face, he couldn't believe it either. 

Gently taking the woman from Alan's arms and glaring at both he and Elliot, Bren exclaimed. "Jeez guys! What the hell did you do? I thought..." 

Brendan was silenced by a hard slap on the face from Alan. "Shut up and get her tied up in there." Alan said, gesturing towards the office. Brendan obediently carried Sam away. 

Elliot stepped in front of Alan. Anger and confusion was apparent on Elliot's face as he began to speak. "He asked a reasonable question, Alan. What the hell did you do?" 

Alan took a step forward, standing face to face with Elliot. Out of nowhere, his temper exploded. "You were with us in the tunnels that day. You have seen what she is capable of. On top of that, she is a soldier. Did you really expect her to come quietly, Elliot?" he shouted. 

Elliot did not back down. "No, Alan. I didn't. That is why you had the damn gun! You were supposed to force her at gunpoint not...not beat her to death!" Elliot's tone grew into a shout as he continued. "How could you be so careless? Do you actually think that she'll be able to help us in this condition?" There were no answers for Elliot. Frustrated, he shook his head and began to walk away. 

Alan lunged forward and grabbed Elliot's shoulders, spinning him back around. " I am in charge here! The plan..." Alan stopped short as Bren ran into the room excitedly pointing toward the office. "Hey, guys." he said, "She's waking up!" 

Despite her best attempts to remain in the dark oblivion that engulfed her, Sam was indeed waking up. Her head was swimming and every breath brought new pain from all over her body. Thoughts were coming slowly and it took her a moment to realize that she was in a chair, tied at the wrists and ankles with her hands at her back. Tied...reality hit with full force as Sam remembered the attack. She knew that she was in big trouble. Sam could hear people enter the room. She kept her eyes closed, hoping that her captors would think her unconscious and just go away. She jumped as fingers brushed her chest, grabbing her dog tags and pulling them off over her head. 

"Good morning...Captain Samantha Carter." a rough voice whispered in her ear. 

Sam opened her eyes to meet the owner of that voice. His face looked so young, even innocent. Looking down beyond the man's face, she saw that he was still wearing the nylon warm-up suit he had worn during the attack. There was some dried blood down the front of the jacket, and by the way she felt, Sam was willing to bet that the blood was hers. Sam tried to speak, but there was only a wet rattle deep in her throat. The action caused her to cough violently and she felt blood fill her mouth and seep out the corners of her closed lips. Panic surged through her. She had seen Jack cough like that once, and knew that she was in bad shape and short on time. 

Spitting the blood clear of her mouth, Sam found her voice and asked, "What do you want?" She grimaced in pain. It hurt her ribs and chest so much to talk, and just those four short words had been torture on her split and swollen lips. 

Alan smiled a deceivingly sweet smile and answered, "I want you to take us to the Path to the Gods, Tok'ra." 

Sam could not hide the look of shock that fell across her face at those words. Trying to remain clam, Sam looked the man dead in the eyes and replied, "I don't know what you're talking about." 

Alan's face flamed red in anger. "Liar!" he screamed. He then bent forward as if to tell her a secret. As he leaned in, Alan put his hands on Sam's swollen knee and squeezed with more and more pressure as he whispered, "I saw you. I watched you blast him into the ground." 

The pain was unbearable and the shock of his words too much. Sam could no longer hold back the scream that had risen within her. Her thoughts became disjointed and her surroundings began to melt away as she lost the strength to hang onto the waking world. Again, unconsciousness overcame her. Only this time, the darkness held company...the nightmarish memories of that day in Seth's compound. 

Elliot shook his head at Alan in disgust. "You and your violent temper have screwed us again, Alan! Were you ever going to use the gun as planned, or had you always intended on doing this to her? Your stupid act of retribution has ruined everything." Alan opened his mouth to respond, but was silenced by Brendan's voice. 

"She can't help us! She's dying, man!" 

Alan raised his hand to strike and Bren silenced. Afraid of another violent outburst, the two men finally let Alan speak. "She is not the only one with power or with knowledge of the Path. She is still of use to us." Elliot and Bren remained silent, waiting for Alan to continue. "Surely, someone of her power holds great value with her comrades." He glared at Sam's still form beside him. "I think the Tok'ra will not let this one go easily." 

* * * * * * * 

**Monday**

Jack bounded up the stairs to Sam's place two at a time, humming softly as he went. He was intentionally early, hoping that he would be able to talk her into having breakfast with him somewhere on the way to the SGC. Thinking about how nice it would be to start out the day by having breakfast with Sam, he resolved to offer her a ride to work much more often. Jack had just raised his hand to knock on the door when he noticed a key set into the lock above the doorknob. 

_'Hmm...Sam's usually not the careless type.'_ Jack thought to himself. He knocked loudly on the door, praying she would answer so he could push away the worries that had inexplicably surfaced inside him. Jack knocked again, louder this time, and called out to her. 

"Sam?" 

He frowned, wondering what to do next. _'Why am I so worried? This could all be nothing. She could just be in the shower for God's sake.'_ The bad feeling in his gut kept persisting despite his efforts to reassure himself. Finally deciding it was better to act now and apologize later if this was a mistake, Jack grasped the key and unlocked the door. He peeked his head into the dark room and listened. He could hear no sounds of movement in any of the other rooms, nor was there any light. 

"Sam?" he called out for the second time. Stepping into the entryway, Jack was startled when he accidentally kicked something and sent it flying into a wall. He found the switch for the hall light and flipped it on. Against the wall, by his right foot, lay a large manila envelope. Leaving the package where it lay, Jack went from room to room in search of any sign of Sam. Not finding her anywhere, he went back for the envelope and took it over to the couch. Jack's stomach dropped as he looked at the front of the package. It was not addressed to Sam, as he would have expected. Instead of an address, there was a crudely drawn symbol...the symbol of Setesh. Jack hurriedly ripped open the envelope and dumped its contents out next to him. What he saw there nearly made his heart stop. On the cushion next to him were an unmarked videotape, a set of dog tags and one Polaroid picture of a bloodied and battered Sam Carter. 

* * * * * * * 

Joined by General Hammond and Dr. Frasier, SG-1 sat around the conference table with their eyes locked on the video screen before them. The static gave way to the vision of a young man wearing a hooded robe. Daniel's eyebrows shot up as he immediately recognized the man as a member of Seth's cult. 

After a moment of silence, the robed figure began. "Seth spoke of many worlds, controlled by powerful, but corrupt, gods. He prophesied that his army would one day travel to these worlds, overthrowing the corrupt and reveling in their power. As the last remaining soldiers of Seth, we are destined to travel the Path to the Gods and inherit the power of our fallen leader. Those who were sent by the vile Tok'ra to destroy our army will meet myself and two other representatives of our order at the time and coordinates listed on the bottom of the photograph included with this message. You will take whatever steps necessary to bring us to the Path. Once our demands have been met, Captain Carter will be released. If you fail to cooperate with our demands, the Captain will be left to die." 

To punctuate that last point, the man stepped out of view to reveal Sam. Janet involuntarily gasped at the sight of her good friend. Sam's face was a mass of scrapes and bruises and her nose was clearly broken. There was fresh blood around her mouth and on her chin, as well as down the front of her t-shirt. Despite the incredible pain she must have been in, Sam was conscious and staring defiantly into the lens...a deliberate show of strength. Sam's chin dropped to her chest and the picture succumbed to static once again and was gone. 

The room sat in shocked silence. 

General Hammond blinked back to reality and shook his head as if to clear it from that last image. He quietly said, "I'd like to hear your thoughts on how to proceed from here." 

Janet was the first to find her voice. "We can't stall on this. By the looks of it, Sam needs medical attention desperately. There can't be that much damage to her face without there being a real risk of head trauma. The amount of blood around her mouth suggests that she may be coughing up blood from internal injuries." Jack winced as he remembered how painful injuries like that were. Tears threatened to well up as he wished he could be there for her as she had been for him. 

Hammond turned to Daniel and asked, "Dr. Jackson, is it possible that these people are still under the effect of the substance that Seth used to control his followers?" 

Daniel considered this for a moment and then shook his head no. "I don't believe so, General. The 'clean-up' effort was very thorough. Everyone at the compound was given a second shock, just to be sure. I think these people are acting of their own free will and should be taken very seriously." 

Teal'c nodded once and then said, "I agree with DanielJackson." 

Jack finally spoke up. "Of course we take them seriously, dammit! If we don't cooperate, Captain Carter will die!" 

The General rubbed a hand over his face and took a deep breath before responding. "Calm down, son. I want to get Sam...the Captain back as much as you do, but cooperating and bringing these people to the Stargate is not an option. We have to find another way." 

Jack's face flushed red with anger. He stood and slammed his fists down onto the table. "There is no other way! She is running out of time and we have to get her back!" he yelled. 

General Hammond stood too and nailed O'Neill with a commanding glare. "Sit down Colonel or I will have you removed and sedated." Both men returned to their seats and the General continued. "I can not risk the security of this base or the Stargate Program for **anyone**...no matter how much I wish I could. We can not send those people through this Stargate." Hammond said with finality. The room again became silent. 

General Hammond sat back in his chair with his arms crossed at his chest. He was angry with himself because his hands were tied, with no foreseeable way to help the woman he cared for like a niece. Janet held her face it her hands as if she could force her tears back. She wondered if she would get to her friend in time to help her. Teal'c's normally stoic face held a look of anger, but it paled in comparison to the expression Jack wore. He shared all of their feelings and more. Finally, there was Daniel. His face was passive and his eyes showed that he was lost in thought as he stared vacantly at Sam's empty chair. The tense silence of the room was broken by his soft voice. 

"Through this Stargate..." The General looked up at the young doctor. "What Dr. Jackson?" Suddenly, Daniel bolted upright in his chair as if he had been shocked. "Through **this** Stargate! That's it!" Teal'c raised his eyebrow in Daniel's direction and Jack looked puzzled as well. 

"Are you goin' anywhere with this, Daniel?" Jack asked. 

Ignoring Jack, he got up and approached the general. "Sir, we can't compromise the SGC facility or send them through this gate, but that doesn't mean we're out of options. We have another Stargate." 

Teal'c seemed to take this in for a moment and then said, "I do not understand how this helps us DanielJackson." 

Daniel began to pace and it was clear that he was frustrated that no one saw where he was going with this. "OK. If we set up the second Stargate somewhere else, we could take the group there...eliminating the security risk to this base." 

General Hammond said, "But it still reveals highly classified gate technology to these outsiders." Jack responded to General Hammond's concerns with pleading in his voice. 

"Sir, we will have to sacrifice something along the way if we want to get Captain Carter back alive." He looked desperately at each person sitting at the table. His eyes finally settled on Daniel, silently begging him to come up with a solution. 

Janet shifted uncomfortably in her seat and decided to throw a question into the mix. "If we do set up the second Stargate, would just seeing it be enough to convince these people to let Sam go?" Her question was met with utter silence and she wondered if she was now the only one who was present mentally. 

After what seemed like minutes, the General answered her. "Probably not Doctor. We'll just have to give them the show they're looking for." Everyone in the room looked shocked at the General's remarkable turn-around. He grumbled, "Well, stop sittin' there like a bunch of zombies...let's get a plan in action." As everyone pulled themselves together, he continued. "SG1, prepare to make a trip through the gate immediately. I think we'll need a little help with this one." Looking toward Janet he said, "Doctor, we're most likely going to go after the Captain ourselves and stabilize her on sight. Get together every person and thing you'll need to make that happen. I'll get on the phone and get that second gate on the move." Looking relieved to finally be in action, he added, "Let's go people, we have work to do." 

* * * * * * * 

**Tuesday**

Jack and Daniel sat in silence on the open tailgate of the olive drab truck. Looking lost in thought, Jack was actually listening into the dense forest around him. They were out there, watching. He would give them no sign that he knew they were nearby. It was important for these people to feel that they had the upper hand, otherwise they might abort their mission and Sam would be doomed. As he waited for them to approach, Jack became lost in thoughts of his Captain. 

Daniel was preoccupied with some thoughts of his own. Questions flew frantically through his mind. _'How much do they really know about us, about the gate? Will we be able to fool them? Will we get to Sam in time?'_ Daniel was abruptly torn from his thoughts by a sound from the brush to his left. 

Jack stood up, having heard the noise too. Jack slowly put his hands into the air, gesturing for Daniel to do the same. He shouted, "I am Colonel O'Neill and this is Dr. Jackson. We are alone and unarmed." 

With that, two armed men came out of the trees, one on each side of the truck. Jack and Daniel both recognized the one man as the robed figure from the video. Assuming he was the leader of the group, Jack turned to him and waited for the man to speak. Alan didn't make him wait long. Nodding toward Jack and Daniel, he asked, "Just the two of you? Where are the other two men?" Jack answered with a hint of sarcasm to his voice. 

"I guess you could say they're worlds away right now. We didn't exactly have time to plan a reunion." 

Adam nodded, seeming to accept this answer. With a smirk and a look of doubt he asked, "So, the two of you can get us to the Path to the Gods?" 

Jack swallowed hard; biting back everything he really wanted to say to the twit. He finally calmed himself and answered, "There are three uniforms in the back of the truck. As far as everyone at the base is concerned, you are newly transferred personnel coming in to relieve the security shift currently guarding the Path. Coming in escorted by Daniel and I, you guys won't even lift an eyebrow." Letting the bitter tone flow freely now, Jack continued. "So, yes...we will be able to fulfill out part of the bargain. How do we know you'll hold up on yours?" 

Alan turned to Brendan and ordered, "Signal Elliot to come on up." Something was said into a small handheld radio and after a couple of minutes, a dark gray panel van could be seen coming up the road. The van slowly pulled as far off the side of the road as possible and came to a halt about 20 feet from the back of the military truck. Alan waved Elliot over and then looked over Jack and Daniel closely for a moment before pointing to Jackson. "Show him." Unsure of what was happening, Daniel looked at Jack, who nodded for Daniel to go with the driver. They had no choice but to play along. 

Daniel followed Elliot to the van and climbed into the passenger side. As he reached to put his seatbelt on, Elliot put a hand on his arm to stop him and said, "You won't be needing that. Turn around." His heart slamming in his chest, Daniel turned around to look through the steel mesh partition that separated the van's cab from the cargo area. His breath caught in his throat as he spotted Sam. As disturbing as the images on the video had been, it wasn't half as bad as seeing the real thing. Sam lay unconscious on her side at the back of the van. Her ankles and wrists were tied with rough hemp rope that had cut into her skin. There was blood all over her face and her body looked like she had been tossed around like a rag doll. Daniel looked beyond her and saw that the doors at the back of the van were wired with C4 explosives and, judging by the wires that hung into view on the other side of the partition, so was the front part of the cargo area. Daniel was snapped back to attention with a gruff, "Hey, let's go." from the driver. 

Elliot ushered a shaken Daniel back over to Jack and the others. The young doctor stumbled over to the truck and sat down on the tailgate. He looked as if he were about to faint. Jack knelt before him and quietly asked, "What's going on Daniel? Are you OK?" As Jackson looked up at him, Jack could see that he was fighting back tears. "She's here, Jack...in the van." Jack grabbed him by the shoulders. 

"Is she alive?" 

Daniel wiped at his eyes and answered, "Yeah, but she looks real bad, Jack. We gotta hurry." Jack stood and faced the three men before him. 

"Let's get on with this", he said quietly. 

Alan flashed a sickening sweet smile and said, "Alright, this is how we proceed from here. The van containing your dear Captain Carter remains here while you take us to the Path to the Gods." Alan paused and nodded to Brendan who pulled a small remote out of his jacket pocket and held it up for Jack to see. Alan continued on. "This remote controls the explosives your friend there failed to mention." Jack saw Daniel's head hang down as he finally lost control of his tears. _'It's OK Danny-boy.'_ Jack thought. _'We're all a little preoccupied with our emotions here.'_ Alan cleared his throat, once again commanding Jack's attention. Alan began again as if he were giving a sales pitch. "With all of this wonderfully advanced satellite technology, it's amazing how much range and power this tiny little box has. If at any point, I feel that things are getting out of hand, I push this button and...well, you're a soldier. You know what happens." 

Jack fought desperately to hold his anger down. He wanted to kill the arrogant little shit where he stood. Alan ignored Jack's angry glares and went on. "I've also taken the liberty of setting a timer and tamper-proofing the van. Kind of a backup, in case something should happen to me. The only way to get the Captain out of this alive is to cooperate. Once we stand at the threshold of the Path to the Gods, you will be given the remote and the code with which you can disarm all of the safeguards. Well, that's about it. You have three hours, soldier boy. Shall we?" 

* * * * * * * 

The second gate had been airlifted in and set up in a large warehouse on the grounds of the abandoned nuclear facility that the team had been forced to take Cassie to nearly a year before. Sam had risked her life that day...her fate would be decided there once again. Jack and the others made the near 40-mile trip to the staged gate facility and gained entrance to the "base" without incidence. Alan and the other two young men had changed into the provided uniforms and their military disguise seemed to put them all at ease. 

_'They seem to be buying it so far.'_ Jack thought with relief. Dozens of military contractors had worked around the clock to prepare the sight for their arrival and all necessary SGC staff were briefed for their roles. 

As Jack and Daniel escorted the men into the warehouse, they were surprised at how convincing the place looked. The room looked a lot like the one at the real SGC, except that the briefing room window was missing and the control room was on the same floor as the gate. It was time to start the carefully scripted scene. Jack dismissed the security team and watched as Alan and the others took their places. After he closed and locked down the big entry doors, Jack walked into the control room. 

Making sure he was in full view of the others, Jack pretended to pistol-whip the young Airman who played along nicely and went crashing to the floor. Jack clicked on the intercom and said, "Alright, gentlemen. I am now opening the pathway." 

As the great ring began to rumble and each symbol locked into place, Alan and the others stared at the Stargate in awe. The three men threw their hands up to shield their eyes as the event horizon burst to life. Jaws wide open in disbelief, Alan, Elliot and Brendan stood transfixed by the shimmering blue wall before them. The surface rippled as two guards in Setesh helmets stepped through the ring. Alan whooped in triumph even as he and the others took a step back from the beings before them. One of the guards came forward and pointed at Elliot and Brendan. With that, the men's smiles were replaced with looks of fear and uncertainty. 

Looking at Jack, Alan asked, "What's going on?" Exiting the control room, Jack answered, "We're completing our end of the deal." The guard took Elliot and Brendan each by a shoulder and steered them towards the gate and through the horizon. "You will join them as soon as I have the remote, the code and confirmation of my Captain's release." Alan nodded and took the remote from his pants pocket. Smiling, he said, "You know, this is going just as I hoped it would." 

Suddenly there was a blur of activity. Alan turned and made a break for the event horizon, reaching to trigger the remote as he ran. The remaining guard drew his Zat gun and fired once on Alan, who fell to the ground stunned. Jack ran forward and picked up the remote, which had fallen from Alan's unfeeling grasp. Turning to where Jackson had been standing, O'Neill saw that Daniel had already made his way to the control room radio and was relaying Sam's position to General Hammond. 

Flashing Daniel an uneasy half-smile, Jack turned back to Alan and the remaining guard. Alan was beginning to stir. The guard fired two staff shots high into the gate and then turned around to face Alan. The Setesh helmet disengaged to reveal a very angry Jacob Carter. Beckoned by the two signal blasts, the other guard, Teal'C, returned through the gate with Elliot and Brendan. The two men jumped as the gate whooshed closed behind them. They looked absolutely terrified at their fallen leader, crumpled but conscious at the bottom of the ramp. 

Looking up at the two startled men, Jack shrugged and said, "Looks like the 'gods' aren't too happy with your friend." Jack moved over to Alan and hoisted him to his feet by the back of his shirt. He got nose to nose with Alan and sternly ordered, "The code...now." Adam wriggled out of Jack's grip and sneered at Jacob. "The bitch can die for all I care." 

With an unintelligible yell of anger, Jacob fired on Alan with his Zat gun until the man disappeared into thin air. _'This is **not** in the script!'_ Daniel thought to himself. Jack, Daniel and Teal'c could only watch in shock as Jacob turned on the remaining two men. 

Eyes glowing, he aimed the Zat at them. **"What is the code?!"** Selmac's voice roared. Both men collapsed to their knees in fear. Elliot attempted to answer, faltered and then tried again. "Please, please...the code is 41793. I swear!" Brendan nodded frantically in agreement. Jack typed the numbers into the remote and then turned to look at Daniel who was already on the radio with Hammond. After a moment, Daniel gave a thumbs up and flashed a brilliant ear-to-ear grin. He didn't even need to say a word...his face said everything. It was all over. 

* * * * * * * 

**Epilogue**

**Wednesday (early morning)**

Dr. Janet Frasier called up to General Hammond's office to inform he and General Carter of Sam's condition and then headed into the hallway, knowing she would find SG-1 there. As she entered the hallway, it was immediately evident that the full impact of the past few days had finally caught up with the team. Jack and Daniel had both fallen asleep- Jack in a chair with his chin resting on his chest, and Daniel sprawled in an almost impossible position on the small loveseat. Even the normally stoic Teal'C sat slumped against the wall, worry and exhaustion furrowing his heavy brow. Janet cleared her throat and all three men were immediately on their feet. 

With a look of reassurance, she began. "The surgery was touch and go for awhile, but we were finally able to get the internal bleeding under control and repair her injuries. She has a nasty concussion, but the swelling isn't severe enough to be considered life threatening. Her broken nose will not require surgery, but her knee might. We'll have an orthopedic surgeon scope it when she's a bit stronger. All other wounds are superficial and will heal quite nicely, given some time." 

The whole room seemed to take a huge sigh of relief and Janet could see the men relax. Looking into their faces, she could see one more question there and answered it before any of them had gathered the breath to ask. "Aside from her father, who must return to the Tok'ra soon, no visitors until tomorrow. Sam needs to rest, and so do you. With a grin, she added, "Each of you grab a nap, a shower and a meal... **then** we'll talk about visiting hours." With one more smile and a little wave, Janet was off to tend to her patient. The men of SG-1 headed off to their quarters, feeling happy and safe in the knowledge that the whole team was home and their toughest mission yet was finally at an end.   


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>   
>  © September 19,1999 The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp.  
> The Stargate, SG-I, the Goa'uld and all other characters  
> who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names,   
> titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television,   
> Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd.   
> Partnership.  
> This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and   
> solely meant for entertainment.   
> All other characters, the story idea and the story itself   
> are the sole property of the author.   
> 

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##### I have only seen seasons one and three, so any spoilers from season two are purely accidental. Within the text, a line of stars shows the passage of time and all italicized words are thoughts. This is my first attempt at fan fic of any kind. I hope to write more and write better, so feedback is appreciated. Praise will send me dancing around the room. Constructive criticism will make me a better writer. Flames...well, I'll take those too, but I don't expect me to say thank you. Finally, hugs and thanks to those of you who offered words of encouragement. Without you guys, this story would have remained abandoned in a mile-high stack of legal pads. 

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